


Symbols and Years

by TongueTiedRaven



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Edward learning alchemy, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TongueTiedRaven/pseuds/TongueTiedRaven
Summary: Hohenheim taught Ed how to draw a transmutation circle when he was five.Al was taking his nap - Ed was big enough that he didn’t need one now even if mom insisted that wasn’t true -and Ed wanted to learn. He’d seen his dad make a bowl for mom after they broke one of her bowls to see if it could spin - it couldn’t - and Ed wanted to do the same thing.Ed didn’t notice until his dad was tapping one of the weird symbols with his foot.“It’s upside down.” He stated. Ed looked up in surprise and couldn’t see his dad’s eyes through the reflecting light on his glasses.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Van Hohenheim
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65





	Symbols and Years

Hohenheim taught Ed how to draw a transmutation circle when he was five. 

Al was taking his nap - Ed was big enough that he didn’t need one now even if mom insisted that wasn’t true -and Ed wanted to learn. He’d seen his dad make a bowl for mom after they broke one of her bowls to see if it could spin - it couldn’t - and Ed wanted to do the same thing. 

Dad’s room was big and loaded with books. Al said it was scary - Al was scared of everything - Ed thought it was fantastic. He wanted to read every book. Someday he would and dad would be proud.

Ed checked the hallway to make sure it was still empty and carefully pushed the door to dad’s office open a crack. 

The desk was crowded with papers, empty ink jars, open books, and obscure looking measurement objects. It looked like the study of a wizard from one of the stories mom told them before bed. 

He wanted to explore it all but there would be time for that later. He was on a mission right now. 

Dad’s books were written in weird languages and he didn’t understand most of the titles. Still, it was fun to run his fingers along the spine and pretend he was reading them in search of a specific one. 

(Years and years later Ed would be in a very different library and he’d remember this moment with a sense of the same frustration and wonder.)

He skipped the rest of the books and shuffled to the crowded desk. Dad always stuck with ink pots and quills or charcoal instead of the pens and pencils mom bought them. He didn’t understand why but he liked the colorful inks and the sound the quills made as they scratched across the paper.

Ed passed those too and came to the pile of papers. In the center of them was a simple circle with fancy lettering and strange symbols. He blinked at it a few times and tried to figure out if he could read any of the words. 

He couldn’t.

Still, it looked like the right sort of thing. He just needed to draw it out. Dad always drew his circles on the ground with chalk when he was making stuff for their neighbors. Ed could do that. 

He had to dig through a few papers before he managed to find the chalk. He grabbed the sheet of paper and returned to the middle of the room with the chalk. He set it down and drew a slightly sloppy circle. The symbols were hard to copy but he thought he’d managed it. 

What Ed didn’t do was pay attention to the door. He didn’t hear it creak open and he didn’t see his dad standing in the doorway with his broad arms crossed.

Ed didn’t notice until his dad was tapping one of the weird symbols with his foot.

“It’s upside down.” He stated. Ed looked up in surprise and couldn’t see his dad’s eyes through the reflecting light on his glasses. 

“What?”

His dad crouched down and rubbed out the symbol. “You’ve put it in upside down. If you’re not careful it’ll rebound.” Ed glanced back and forth between his drawing and the paper. His dad was right.

“What’s a rebound?”

His dad frowned, a sadness in his eyes as he knelt down beside Ed. “They’re bad, Edward. A rebound means the failed alchemy turns back on you in some way.” He erased a few more lines of Ed’s circle. “Alchemy is dependent upon equivalent exchange.”

Ed knew that one. “To create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principal of equivalent exchange.” He quoted diligently and earned an impressed look from his father. It made Ed sit taller and smile because his father rarely looked proud. 

“Exactly. It’s a trade, and if you don’t trade enough alchemy will take the extra from you.” He took the chalk from Ed’s hands and put the symbol down properly. “Alchemy is a science and requires certain things to be exact. You can make mistakes on the circles,” he erased part of the circle and made it a little more wobbly. “There aren’t a lot of people who can draw a perfect circle after all, but the symbols have to be correct or there’s no telling what will happen. You could simple transmute something you didn’t intend or it could be a lot worse.”

Ed nodded and studied the way his dad drew the symbols. 

“This,” his dad tapped the last symbol, “is the most important one. It’s the seal. This binds the alchemy to the circle. Never forget it.” 

(In a handful of years Ed would put this information to use as he sketched it on an old suit of armor with his own blood. He would never forget it.)

“And we can make anything like this?” Ed asked with an eager bounce. The sparkle in his dad’s eyes faded as Ed spoke and something heavy and guilty squirmed in his gut. 

“No. Not anything.” His dad straightened up instantly and shoved the chalk into his pocket. It was a messy movement unlike his father’s typical studious ways. His dad rubbed out the circle with the edge of his shoe and motioned for Ed to stand. 

“That’s enough for today. You shouldn’t be learning this stuff. At least not now.” He shook his head and looked at all the sprawling notes on the desk. Ed knew that his dad was distracted now and there wouldn’t be any getting his attention back. The lesson was over for now.

He looked back at the messed up circle and studied the lines as his dad went to his desk and sat down. Ed was good at remembering and he was confident in his ability to remember this long enough to find a pencil and a sheet of paper. He gave his father one last look as he studied the interesting papers on his desk. 

Hohenheim left two weeks later and it would be ten years before Ed saw him again.

Three weeks later Ed taught Al how to draw a circle in the same spot. 

(A handful of years later they would return to the study and nothing would be the same.)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this a few years ago and never posted it. I found it again and decided to dust it off because I love this show and the relationship between these two has always fascinated me.


End file.
